Our complaints procedure for energy customers

Our complaints procedure for energy is designed to help you make sure that all your queries are answered to your satisfaction. There are several steps you can follow to make sure your points are fully answered.

Independent help and advice is available at any stage from the Citizens Advice consumer service.

Step 1 - Talk to us

We have a helpline - 0800 975 04852 - open from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and from 8am to 2pm on Saturday, where you can talk to people who are ready to help and answer any questions you have.

When you telephone us with a problem our adviser will attempt to resolve matters with you while you are on the call. However, if necessary your complaint will be escalated to a Manager or specialist team. We want to agree a solution by 8pm the following working day.

If you write to us with a problem, we aim to fully resolve matters by 8pm the following working day after we receive your letter. Please include your name, account number and/or full address so we can contact you back. We may try to contact you by telephone to help with this resolution.

If, at any time, you would prefer to talk to us face to face about your complaint, you can visit one of our Customer Service Centres. Please contact us for details of your nearest office.

If we cannot resolve your complaint fully or have not agreed a form of resolution by 8pm the following working day after your first contact, then you can proceed to the next step.

Step 2 - Head of Customer Service Team

Following Step 1, if the complaint has not been resolved to your satisfaction, then you can raise the matter with our Head of Customer Service Team, who will undertake an independent internal review and aim to reach a resolution within 5 working days.

You can contact the Head of Customer Service Team, providing your name, account number and/or full address, as follows:

Step 3 - Ombudsman Services: Energy

If you haven't received a satisfactory response from our Head of Customer Service Team within five working days or if eight weeks have passed since you first registered your complaint, you can contact the Ombudsman Services: Energy. You may be referred back to us if you haven't escalated your complaint via our formal complaints process outlined in steps 1 and 2.

The Ombudsman Services: Energy will carry out an independent investigation on your behalf. As part of resolving your complaint the Ombudsman Services: Energy may ask us to make an apology or give an explanation. They can also ask us to take remedial action and may require us to award compensation. Any decision the Ombudsman Services: Energy makes will be binding on our company, but not on you, so you can seek further advice if you wish to.

Free independent help and advice at any stage

It's easy to get free, independent advice so that you 'Know your rights' as an energy consumer. You might want to get a better deal, find out how to make a complaint, get advice about the quality of your electricity or gas supply, or ask for help if you're struggling to pay your bills.

Our Quarterly Complaints Performance

Whenever a customer expresses any dissatisfaction with our products or services, we record this as a complaint.

Our key complaint figures are shown below1.

No of complaints received

No of complaints received per 100,000 accounts

No of complaints resolved

No of complaints resolved per 100,000 accounts

% complaints resolved by the end of the next working day

% of complaints resolved within 8 weeks

1 October 2014 to 31 December 2014

208,660

2,813

207,057

2,792

84.50%

97.01%

1 July 2014 to 30 September 2014

227,118

2,985

224,398

2,949

85.57%

97.02%

1 April 2014 to 30 June 2014

239,555

3,081

238,507

3,067

85.24%

97.18%

1 January 2014 to 31 March 2014

217,253

2,760

211,730

2,690

82.11%

96.91%

We're continually making improvements to our service and we're pleased this is reflected in a reduced number of complaints received between October and December 2014, a reduction we've maintained for the last two quarters.

As a result of our focus on reacting quickly when customers complain, we've maintained our performance over the last year by resolving over 80% of complaints by the end of the next working day. Similarly, the number of complaints resolved within eight weeks has stayed at around 97% over the last year. This reduces the need for customers to contact a third party, such as the energy ombudsman and this has also helped us maintain our lead position in the Citizens Advice Supplier Performance league3.